If You Love Something Volume 2
by mannaberry
Summary: This is the second story in the series.  I recommend reading Vol. 1 before reading this.  Jareth & Sarah goodness, plus a whole bunch of other stuff  some of it quite sad.  Chapter 4 is up.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: Yay, I'm back. Here is a very short taste of how the next volume is going to go. It's gonna be a bit darker, and I've decided to introduce some bad guys.

*As always, I don't own anything that's property of the Jim Henson Company. However, new characters are all mine!*

Prologue

Toby awoke to the sound of creaking floorboards. There was no moon, and the room was incredibly dark. Something was in the room with him. He could hear what sounded like a dog, sniffing. It came closer and closer. He lay frozen, barely breathing, with his eyes shut. He felt hot breath wash across his face, and to his horror heard, "He is here, Master."

A deep bass voice responded, "My pet, make the humans sorry they ever returned."

Toby opened his eyes in time to see the claws swipe towards him.

Miles away, Sarah awoke with Toby's scream ringing in her ears.


	2. Chapter 1

Author's Note: Yay for finishing the first chapter! Hope ya'll enjoy! This story picks up a few months after vol. 1 ended. I'll be filling in the details of what happened here in these first few chapters.

Disclaimer: I really don't own much. I certainly don't own anything from the movie, but anything not from the movie I do own.

Chapter One

_ Women! Why do they have to be so dramatic?_ The Goblin King stood staring out into the dark, his mind swirling with painful musings. It had been, by far, a terrible six months. As if it wasn't bad enough that his silly little sister had gotten herself pregnant with some mortal's brat; Sarah just had to take the girl's side. Both girls had completely overreacted to his sister's punishment. Besides, it wasn't as if Sarah had to take Sophia's side.

Jareth heard the door open behind him, and said, "Vincent, it's the middle of the night. Can't it wait?"

"Sorry, no, I'm afraid I've had a rather urgent message from Sarah."

That got the Goblin King's full attention, and he turned to face his brother, "Is something wrong with Sophia?"

Vincent shook his head, "I don't know about Sophia. It's Toby. Sarah, seems to think something's happened to him."

Jareth sighed, "She's probably just had a bad dream." Seeing the look of irritation that crossed Vincent's features he said, "Fine, fine. I'll check in on the lad, and make sure he hasn't gotten into too much trouble."

Mr. Fortescue was having a particularly bad night. As he paced in his office, trying to decide what to do, he found himself trying to take comfort in the fact that he had never wanted to be a teacher. In fact, he had never wanted to be in charge of a boys school. Especially not preppy little fae boys who were destined to rule some country that no one aboveground had ever heard of. No, he had wanted to be a writer. Of course, you write one damn book that's supposed to be nothing more than a faery tale and guess close enough to the truth that high council decides you must disappear. "And now I'm stuck here. This isn't my fault. It can't be my fault!" He yelled to no one in particular.

"What isn't your fault?"

Mr. Fortescue shuddered, he knew that voice, and he dreaded what he had to say. Slowly he turned around, desperately trying to think of something to say. He had nothing.

"Mr. Fortescue, I wish to inquire about one of your students." The Goblin King noted the pale face of the schoolmaster.

"Your...Your Majesty, I'm not sure now's the best time."

Jareth started to feel alarmed, but did his best to keep his face void of emotion, "Yes, I think now is an excellent time. I want to know about young Tobias."

"Tobias? Let me see...I'm not exactly sure which of my students you're referring to, Your Highness."

"Really, that's a pity. Seeing as there is only one Tobias who attends your school."

What color was left in Mr. Fortescue's face completely disappeared, he fell to his knees, and started crying, "Please, Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I didn't know. I couldn't have known. I never expected. It's terrible, so terrible!"

Jareth looked at the teacher with a mixture of pity and fear, "Mr. Fortescue," he said as gently as possible, "what has happened to Tobias?"

Mr. Fortescue shook his head and said, "I don't know. It's awful. I would've done something. I would've stopped it, if I had known."

Jareth picked the man up, and looked him in the eyes, "What has happened?"

After a moment, the teacher said, "I had better show you."

With that, the teacher left the room, with the Goblin King following behind.

When Jareth saw Toby's room all he could say, "Oh. Dear. God."

When Jareth returned to the castle he called Vincent to his chambers. Vincent's reaction to Jareth's news was nothing more than absolute horror.

"We have to tell her."

Jareth shook his head, "I know, I know. I don't know how, though."

"Well, we go visit her, sit her down, and just do it."

"Easy for you to say. She doesn't currently hate you."

Vincent shook his head, "Well, if you've noticed she's not my biggest fan at the moment."

"At least she's still speaking to you."

Vincent forced a laugh, "I guess you're right. Still, we shouldn't waste time."

Jareth sighed, "Yes, I know. Well, we better get this over with."

"We?"

Jareth nodded, "Yes, as you pointed out; out of the two of us, she's still speaking to you."

A moment later both had disappeared from the room.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"I don't care, I want you to leave now, Jareth!" Sarah's reaction to Jareth's presence was precisely what he had expected, and yet it still hurt.

Vincent tried to play peacemaker, "Sarah, Jareth had to come. He's the one who actually checked on your brother."

"If I had wanted him to check up on toby, I would've asked him. I asked you. So, I guess you're telling me that I can't trust you either?"

"That's enough, Sarah." Jareth was fed up, "Whether you like it or not, Vincent asked me to help, because I am the king. Besides, he is too young to understand what I learned."

This caught Sarah by surprise, "What are you saying? Am I right? Did something bad happen to Toby?"

"I don't know how you knew something was wrong; but yes, to answer your question, something bad has happened."

There were no tears, Sarah's face was completely void of emotion. Slowly she sat down and became completely still. Jareth and Vincent looked at each other nervously. Neither knew how to handle her reaction. After a moment, Jareth said, "Sarah?"

"I knew. I knew something. Oh, God, he's dead, isn't he?" Sarah's lips were moving, and sound came out, but the rest of her face was emotionless.

"No, no, not dead. At least, I don't think he is. Although..." Jareth's voice trailed off.

Sarah finally looked at them, "No, don't pause. What do you mean, although?"

Jareth sat down across from her, and took her hands in his. She tried to draw them away, but he held on, "Sarah, I know I'm the last person you want to see right now, but I'm the only one who can tell you anything right now." She relaxed just a fraction, and he continued, "I went to the school. Something happened there, but no one saw it. Sarah, I don't know what condition Toby's in, but from the state of his room, I'm afraid it's not very good."

"Jareth? Vincent? What the hell are you doing here?"

All heads turned to face the newcomer to the room. Sarah immediately got up and ran over to her, "Sophia, what on earth are you doing up? You know the doctor said that you need to stay off your feet." Sarah led Sophia over to the couch. Once she had Sophia settled, she turned back to the men, "Come with me!" and to Sophia she said, "You, stay put."

Sarah led them into the hallway and said, "Now, see what you've done?"

Vincent and Jareth looked at her perplexed, and the king said, "What are you talking about?"

"Sophia." she hissed, "as if she's not having enough problems, she has to endure your presence."

For a moment the brother's forgot the reason for their visit, and Vincent asked, "What problems? What's wrong with Sophia?"

Sarah sighed, "She's been having a hard time with this pregnancy. She's almost lost the baby twice, and she's so depressed. I hate to say it, but she needs her family right now. I think she's been punished enough. Besides, I say that she shouldn't have been punished to begin with!"

Jareth glared at Sarah, "We will speak of this later. If her condition is really as bad as you say, then you both must come back to the castle."

Sarah sighed, "Much as it pains me to agree, I think it would be best for her."

As soon as Sarah got Sophia situated back in her old room, she went in search of the Goblin King. She located him in the library pouring over old books. He looked up as he heard her approach, "Ah, good, I was just thinking I need to talk to you."

Sarah gave him a withering look, "Listen, Jareth, I don't like you right now. Actually, I loathe you right now. However, my feelings on the matter are not important right now. I need to know what happened to my brother."

Jareth sighed, "Sarah, I don't honestly know what happened."

"No, you promised me he would be okay. So, start explaining."

Jareth turned back to the books and didn't say anything.

Sarah watched him for a few moments and finally said, "I'm waiting."

He turned back to her, "Sarah, what do you want me to say? I know your angry, but honestly all I have to go on right now is the blood that was left in your brother's room." He paused and then said, "Actually, I have something to ask you."

"Fine. What?"

"How did you know something was wrong in the first place?"

"I saw it." She stated quietly.

It was Jareth's turn to be angry, "You saw it, and you're just now bothering to say so? Do you have any idea how much further along I could be into finding Toby?"

Sarah struggled to blink back the tears which threatened to appear, "I didn't say something, because it hurt too much."

"It hurt too much?"

She nodded, "It's hard to explain. The short version is that I saw Toby in my dream. He woke up, someone was in his room, but I couldn't see who it was. The only thing I did see were claws coming at him."

"Claws? Are you absolutely certain?"

She hesitated, "Almost certain. It was pretty dark, but my best guess was claws."

"That is good. You can go now, I've got alot to research."

She headed to the door, but before she walked out, she said, "Whoever was in the room with Toby, said something. He called the other person _Master_." She looked intently at him, "Please find him." and left.

"No, it's impossible." Vincent shook his head in disbelief.

Jareth nodded, "I know, that's how I felt, but the truth of the matter is, everything she described fits perfectly."

"But they're extinct."

"That's what I thought. Still, there's never been any proof of that."

Vincent sighed, "Things are about to get really bad aren't they?"

Jareth nodded, "I'm afraid so."

"What about Toby?"

Jareth shook his head, "He is hidden from me. I've searched, but cannot find him. I fear for him."


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Yup, I pretty much don't own anything

Chapter 3

It was cold. Much colder than it had been in the last several winters. Pulling on her sweatshirt, Kirby found herself wondering why she had not run her errands the day before when it had been in the fifties. One glance at the thermometer outside her kitchen window confirmed that it was still 23 degrees and she cringed as she saw that a mix of snow and ice was steadily coming down. Well, at least she could get everything in one place. Then she could cuddle up under a blanket and watch t.v.

Much as Kirby hated the cold, she hated idiot drivers even more. It never failed that when there was the tiniest amount of percipitation, people forgot even the simplest proper driving habits. The streets were an icy, snow covered mess. More than once Kirby was cut off or nearly rear-ended. She breathed a sigh of relief when she finally got inside Wal-Mart.

She had just turned to put a gallon of milk in her cart when she saw him. He was small, and looked to be in his early teens. He had sandy blonde hair, and piercing dark eyes that seemed to stare into her soul. He began walking towards her, and she found she could not more or look away. When he reached her, he grabbed the cart tightly and said, "Please, help me."

Seeing him closer, she felt pity for him. His clothes were quite worn, with several holes visible; and to her horror, she saw that all his exposed skin was covered in thin scar lines. Her stomach tightened as she thought about the kind of abuse he must have suffered. "Are you lost?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"Did you come with someone?"

He shook his head.

"Do you have any family I can call?"

"I don't know."

She sighed, "Well, I'll take you to customer service. I'm sure they can call the police, or something."

Terror flashed across his face, "No, no! Please, just take me with you!"

She wanted to walk away, but something about the way he looked at her kept her rooted in place. Finally, "Alright, c'mon. You're lucky I've got a soft spot for lost puppies."

They started to make their way towards the check-out and Kirby asked, "Is there a chance you know your name?"

He shook his head, and she shrugged, "That's okay. Don't worry about it, I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'm Kirby."

Driving home, Kirby's mind raced. She was glad, for once, that she lived alone. No one would be around to see the boy, or ask uncomfortable questions. Still, the boy was in trouble. He had to be. She wondered what kind of mess she was getting herself into.

Thankfully, her dad had forgotten some of his clothes the last time he had visited. They were a little big, but still better than what the boy owned.

While she made supper, he curled up on her couch and fell asleep. Almost immediately he started talking, but almost all of it was gibberish. However, one thing came out clearly, and repeated it several times.

He slept through the night, and it was the middle of the next day before he woke up. Kirby was knitting and watching _Supernatural_. She watched him closely as he slowly took in his surroundings. He looked at her and asked, "What happened?"

She wasn't sure what he was referring to, so she replied with a question of her own, "What do you remember?"

"I don't remember anything."

"Can you tell me who Sarah is?"

He gave her an odd look, "Sarah? I...I don't know. It sounds really familiar, though. Why?"

"When you were asleep, you kept saying _Sarah_."

He shook his head, and was silent for a few minutes. His attention shifted to the television. A few mintues later he said, "They're real, y'know."

"What are?"

"Faeries."

She laughed, "It's just a show."

"No, faeries are really real. Don't ask me how I know, 'cause I don't. I just know."

Kirby felt at a loss for a response, so she attempted to change the subject, "Any breakthrough about your name?"

"Nope."

"Well, we've got to call you something. I don't want to constantly call you _Hey, You_."

He almost smiled. Pointing at the t.v. he asked, "Who's that?"

She looked, "That's Dean."

He nodded, "That's not my name, but I like it. You can call me Dean."

'Dean's' attention shifted back to the t.v. He watched the rest of the episode in silence. After it was over, Kirby turned the t.v. off and said, "I don't want to sound like a broken record, but is there anything you can tell me about yourself? It doesn't have to even be important. It could be as simple as liking vanilla ice cream instead of chocolate."

"I don't like ice cream." He stated automatically.

She smiled, "That's good. Really. That means that not everything is forgotten."

"But, I don't remember. I just know. Just like with the faeries."

She shrugged, "Well, you only know because buried somewhere in your memory are memories of experiences that have taught you to 'just know' as you put it."

Late that night, long after going to bed, Kirby found herself being shaken awake. She opened her eyes and saw a terrified Dean. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"They found me! We have to do something!"

She was about to ask "Who?" when she heard the front door break. Quickly, she was out of bed, grabbed her phone, and hissed, "Follow me." Running to her closet, she opened the door and whipsered, "Get inside." He obeyed and she followed him pulling the door shut quietly. Both she and Dean barely breathed, and she strained to hear. She heard at least two people going from room to room on the first floor. She dialed 9-1-1, but quickly discovered that she had no signal inside her closet. Soon, she heard footsteps ascending the stairwell. "Get back as far as you can, and don't make a sound." she instructed. Her mind raced, she had nothing to protect them with. It was only a matter of moments before the invaders discovered them.

She heard them enter her bedroom. There was a sound of sniffing, and it stopped outside the closet door. She heard a cold, cruel voice say, "Very good, my pet. I knew he could not stay hidden."

The knob started to turn; suddenly, words entered her brain, and without even stopping to think about them, she said, "I wish the goblins would take the boy and I away right now!"

As the world faded to black she thought she heard someone scream in anger.


	5. Chapter 4

Author's Note: Well, it's been quite a while since I touched this story. Since I last updated, I've returned to college as a full time student and am working a lot, so I'm afraid that this is a really short chapter, but thanks to the long weekend coming up I should be able to actually get a pretty decent next chapter written. Thanks to everyone who's been reading this and the encouragement from all your comments! I love you all!

Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, but most of this isn't mine.

Chapter 5

Late. So very late. The thin light of the new moon was hidden by the dense overgrowth. Two figures could be seen. One stood tall, a steely glint shone in his eyes. He glared at the hooded figure who faced him.

"It'll be easy, you said. It'll be quick, you said. Anything else you'd like to prove yourself wrong about?"

The hooded figure stared defiantly at his accuser, "You never told me the magic we would be going against. How could we succeed when we were working off of half-truths?"

"I told you all you needed to know. Someone better would have had no problem."

"You didn't tell me that the Labyrinth's magic protects these _humans_." He spat out the word as though it tasted bad.

"That magic is being wasted. You know these parasites will destroy our world." Silence hung for several minutes, until, "Now that you know, I give you one more chance to rid this world forever of this infestation."

The hooded figure bowed, "We will not fail this time."


End file.
